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The top four for most of the season and still all in the top five have been Bristol City, Stoke City, West Brom and Watford. A look at the form of these sides is very revealing. Bristol City have one win in their last eight games. Stoke City have just two wins in their last nine games. West Brom have two wins in their last eight and Watford have one win in eleven. Hull City gate crashed the party with four straight wins, but now they’ve got there, they can only manage a home draw with QPR.
Although there are some few examples of teams coming up from the Championship and succeeding in the Premier League, there are far more examples of teams struggling rather badly. In fact, the three teams usually held up of examples of how a promoted team can prosper are Portsmouth, Reading and Wigan Athletic. A glance at the table will show that the latter two teams are sitting fifth and sixth from bottom. Is that how success is measured?
It's all very well battering Championship opponents with the blunt instrument of free kicks and 40-yard throw-ins hurled in flat. They may bully the unwary with players who are prime physical specimens. But if Stoke are not good enough to dispose of Blackpool, they won't be good enough for Liverpool. The prospect of Fernando Torres meeting the likes of the musclebound Leon Cort is the stuff of comedy.
The Championship is a sea of mediocrity. Teams are built around loan signings, has-beens and never-will-bes. Bristol City, finally succumbing to the strain of overachievement, best capture the overwhelming sense of anonymity. Go on. Name three of their players, without peeking at the line-up elsewhere on these pages. The same could be said for Hull, who find themselves third, although we will hear more of Fraizer Campbell, our young United striker learning on the job.
Watford are markedly worse than they were last season, when Aidy Boothroyd knew instinctively they were down by Christmas. He has sold his only players of Premier League quality - Ashley Young and Marlon King. West Bromwich Albion, by common consent the most naturally talented team, concede soft goals from set-pieces. Only veteran Kevin Phillips - 21 goals in 29 matches - protects them from the sort of slump which cost them promotion last season. The £40million will come in handy for those who are promoted, but let's get one thing clear. It's the price of almost certain humiliation.
Speaking of that, West Brom are set to go up if they are able to win their upcoming game next week. Here's a table to the Coca-Cola Championship this season: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/table/default.stm
Although there are some few examples of teams coming up from the Championship and succeeding in the Premier League, there are far more examples of teams struggling rather badly. In fact, the three teams usually held up of examples of how a promoted team can prosper are Portsmouth, Reading and Wigan Athletic. A glance at the table will show that the latter two teams are sitting fifth and sixth from bottom. Is that how success is measured?
It's all very well battering Championship opponents with the blunt instrument of free kicks and 40-yard throw-ins hurled in flat. They may bully the unwary with players who are prime physical specimens. But if Stoke are not good enough to dispose of Blackpool, they won't be good enough for Liverpool. The prospect of Fernando Torres meeting the likes of the musclebound Leon Cort is the stuff of comedy.
The Championship is a sea of mediocrity. Teams are built around loan signings, has-beens and never-will-bes. Bristol City, finally succumbing to the strain of overachievement, best capture the overwhelming sense of anonymity. Go on. Name three of their players, without peeking at the line-up elsewhere on these pages. The same could be said for Hull, who find themselves third, although we will hear more of Fraizer Campbell, our young United striker learning on the job.
Watford are markedly worse than they were last season, when Aidy Boothroyd knew instinctively they were down by Christmas. He has sold his only players of Premier League quality - Ashley Young and Marlon King. West Bromwich Albion, by common consent the most naturally talented team, concede soft goals from set-pieces. Only veteran Kevin Phillips - 21 goals in 29 matches - protects them from the sort of slump which cost them promotion last season. The £40million will come in handy for those who are promoted, but let's get one thing clear. It's the price of almost certain humiliation.
Speaking of that, West Brom are set to go up if they are able to win their upcoming game next week. Here's a table to the Coca-Cola Championship this season: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/table/default.stm